Hybrid

2025 Midwest Beaver Summit
Thursday, June 5
Oakton College, Des Plaines, IL
and virtual

Register Here

Hotel and Location

Presented by

Illinois Beaver Alliance
Superior Bio-Conservancy
Oakton College

Beaver Co-Existence Workshop with Mike Callahan
Wednesday, June 4
in-person only

2025 Hybrid Midwest Beaver Summit Schedule

9:30 a.m.: Registration, pastries, and coffee (in person only)

10:00 a.m.: Opening ceremony, land acknowledgment, introductions

10:40 to 11:15 a.m.: Keynote: Agroforestry: Cultivating Climate Resilience in Midwest Agriculture, Fred Iutzi, Savanna Institute

11:25 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Beavers: Partners in Climate Resilience, Dr. Emily Fairfax, University of Minnesota

12 to 12:55 p.m.: Lunch (in person); documentary films "Beavers in Paradise: Official film of the Ealing Beaver Project" and "Beaver: A Medicine of Possibility" (virtual)

1:00 to 1:35 p.m.: Beaver Management Plans for Local Entities, Mike Callahan, Beaver Institute

1:40 to 2:15 p.m.: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Beavers: An Anishinaabe Perspective, Michael Waasegiizhig-Price, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

2:20 to 3:50 p.m.: Breakout Sessions

3:50 to 4 p.m.: Wrap up

4:45 p.m.: Happy hour at hotel (in person only)

Optional Beaver Co-Existence Workshop with Beaver Institute Founder Mike Callahan
Wednesday, June 4 (In-Person Only)
Oakton College, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Space is limited! Learn all about nonlethal beaver conflict resolution from the people who’ve installed more successful flow devices than anyone in the world. You’ll learn successful flow device theory, design and installation techniques, with hands-on building opportunities.

Virtual Breakout Sessions (virtual attendees will select two sessions)

A Conversation About Policy and Permitting Challenges in Midwest States, facilitated by Alexa Whipple, Methow Okanogan Beaver Project, and Rob Walton, NOAA Fisheries (retired)
A Conversation for Federal Natural Resource Management Agency Staff, facilitated by Bryan Hummel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (retired)
A Conversation for State Natural Resource Management Agency Staff, facilitated by Molly Alves, California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A Conversation for Land Trust Staff, facilitated by Lisa Haderlein, the Land Conservancy of McHenry County
Power Mapping, facilitated by Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
Ask the Beaver Rehabbers, featuring Jane Newhouse, Newhouse Wildlife Rescue, Alexis Broz, Wild for Life, and Alex Hernly, The Pipsqueakery
Educational Programming and Activities about Beavers for Children, presented by Alison Zak, the Human-Beaver Coexistence Fund
Beavers and Floating Wetlands in Urban Chicago, Sammie Clark and Phil Nicodemus, Urban Rivers
Writing, Activism, and Citizen Science, presented by Beaverland author Leila Philip
Using Watershed Units and GIS Technology for the Management of Beavers and Other Wildlife, presented by Kurt Menke, Septima, and Bob Boucher, the Superior Bio-Conservancy